Experience with an On‐board Weighing System Solution for Heavy Vehicles

Mining, construction, and other special vehicles for heavy use are designed to work under high‐performance and off‐road working conditions. The driving and executive mechanisms of the support structures and superstructures of these vehicles frequently operate under high loads. Such high loads place the equipment under constant risk of an accident and can jeopardize the dynamic stability of the machinery. An experimental investigation was conducted on a refuse collection vehicle. The aim of this research was to determine the working conditions of a real vehicle: the kinematics of the waste container, that is, a hydraulic rotate drum for waste collection; the dynamics of the load manipulator (superstructure); the vibrations of the vehicle mass; and the strain (stress) of the elements responsible for the supporting structure. For an examination of the force (weight) on the rear axle of a heavy vehicle, caused by its own weight and additional load, a universal measurement system is proposed. As a result of this investigation, we propose an alternative system for continuous vehicle weighing during waste collection while in motion, that is, an on‐board weighing system, and provide suggestions for measuring equipment designs.     

Characterization of poly(vinyl alcohol)/gold nanocomposites obtained by in situ gamma-irradiation method

Gamma-irradiation induced reduction of gold (Au) ions was performed in aqueous poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) solution. PVA/Au nanocomposites with different contents of inorganic phase were prepared by solvent evaporation. The colloids and corresponding nanocomposites show visible light absorption with strong excitonic peak in the wavelength range from 520 to 550 nm. Morphological and structural characterizations of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) and nanocomposites were performed by TEM, XRD, and FTIR measurements. Also, Mie and Maxwell-Garnett theories were applied to calculate optical properties of Au colloids and PVA/Au nanocomposites, respectively. The changes of heat resistance upon the increase of inorganic phase were correlated to the decrease in crystal perfection of polymer. Improvement of thermal stability of nanocomposites, compared with the neat PVA, was observed when the content of inorganic phase exceeds 1 wt %. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci, 2012     

Electrocardiogram-assisted blood pressure estimation

Accurate automatic noninvasive assessment of blood pressure (BP) presents a challenge due to conditions like arrhythmias, obesity, and postural changes that tend to obfuscate arterial amplitude pulsations sensed by the cuff. Researchers tried to overcome this challenge by analyzing oscillometric pulses with the aid of a higher fidelity signal-the electrocardiogram (ECG). Moreover, pulse transit time (PTT) was employed to provide an additional method for BP estimation. However, these methods were not fully developed, suitably integrated, or tested. To address these issues, we present a novel method whereby ECG-assisted oscillometric and PTT (measured between ECG R-peaks and maximum slope of arterial pulse peaks) analyses are seamlessly integrated into the oscillometric BP measurement paradigm. The method bolsters oscillometric analysis (amplitude modulation) with more reliable ECG R-peaks provides a complementary measure with PTT analysis (temporal modulation) and fuses this information for robust BP estimation. We have integrated this technology into a prototype that comprises a BP cuff with an embedded conductive fabric ECG electrode, associated hardware, and algorithms. A pilot study has been undertaken on ten healthy subjects (150 recordings) to validate the performance of our prototype against United States Food and Drug Administration approved Omron oscillometric monitor (HEM-790IT). Our prototype achieves mean absolute difference of less than 5 mmHg and grade A as per the British Hypertension Society protocol for estimating BP, with the reference Omron monitor.     

The antioxidant activity and the composition of free and bound phenolic acids in dough of wheat flour enriched by Boletus edulis after mixing and thermal processing

The porcino is good source of phenolics and has been used to enrich wheat flour. The antioxidant activity and the content and composition of free and bound phenolic acids in the dough of wheat and porcino flour mixture (70:30 w/w) were investigated. The free form in the amount of 1305.76 μg g^?1 was the main part of the phenolic content in the flour mixture. By dough mixing, the content of free phenolics increased by approximately 70%. Further thermal processing decreased the content of both forms of phenolics compared to dough after mixing, but the content of free phenolics of 1764.24 μg g^?1 is still higher than in the flour mixture. The stability of the detected phenolic acids during mixing and thermal processing depended on whether they were in free or bound form. After thermal processing, the total content of detected phenolic acids was 683.31 μg g^?1, indicating that approximately 87% of the total content of phenolic acids detected in flour mixture was retained.     

Novel Low-Temperature Synthesis of Disodium Dimolybdate by Ultrasonic Spray Pyrolysis

A new method for the synthesis of disodium dimolybdate (Na₂Mo₂O₇) in the process of ultrasonic spray pyrolysis using acidified aqueous solutions of thermodynamically stable molybdenum (VI) oxide clusters as a precursor is described. Na₂Mo₂O₇ particles were collected in alcohols (ethanol, 2-propanol, isobutyl alcohol), and ultracentrifugation was used to isolate solid material from solution. Scanning electron microscopy revealed the formation of uniform spherical Na₂Mo₂O₇ particles with an average diameter of about 0.25 μm. The X-ray diffraction analysis undoubtedly confirmed the formation of orthorhombic Na₂Mo₂O₇ for samples synthesized at a temperature as low as 300°C.     

Some chemical bases for gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar,larval rejection of green ash,Fraxinus pennsylvanica,foliage as food

Green ash is one of the few tree species rejected as food by larvae of the generalist gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar L. (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae). Such rejection is based especially on chemicals present in green ash foliage. The gypsy moth larval feeding-inhibitory activity is contained in the ethyl acetate extractables of green ash foliage. Three representative columnchromatographed fractions of the extractables contained antifeedant activity. Individual fractions showed weaker antifeedant activity compared to the total ethyl acetate extractables. Acid hydrolysis of the extractables destroyed antifeedant activity and yielded feeding stimulant activity at higher concentrations. The aqueous extractables were not feeding-inhibitory. Compounds in the green ash extractables were separated by TLC, HPLC, CC, and GC.     

Anharmonic correction to the magnetization in a ferromagnet with two sublattices

The ferromagnet with two sublattices and different spins in each of them was analyzed both at low temperatures and in the high temperature range. At low temperatures the first anharmonic correction to the magnetization was found to be of the order T⁴. In the high temperature range the implicit expression for the magnetization was obtained, which can be solved only numerically.Department of Physics, University of Beograd, Beograd, Yugoslavia.Institute of Nuclear Science, B. Kidric, Vinca-Beograd, Beograd, Yugoslavia.Department of Physics, University of Novi Sad, Novi Sad, Yugoslavia.     

A multiplexed immunoassay system based upon reciprocating centrifugal microfluidics

A novel, centrifugal disk-based micro-total analysis system (μTAS) for low cost and high throughput semi-automated immunoassay processing was developed. A key innovation in the disposable immunoassay disk design is in a fluidic structure that enables very efficient micro-mixing based on a reciprocating mechanism in which centrifugal acceleration acting upon a liquid element first generates and stores pneumatic energy that is then released by a reduction of the centrifugal acceleration, resulting in a reversal of direction of flow of the liquid. Through an alternating sequence of high and low centrifugal acceleration, the system reciprocates the flow of liquid within the disk to maximize incubation/hybridization efficiency between antibodies and antigen macromolecules during the incubation/hybridization stage of the assay. The described reciprocating mechanism results in a reduction in processing time and reagent consumption by one order of magnitude.     

Effect of turbulent gas-liquid contact in a static mixer on Cryptosporidium parvum oocyst inactivation by ozone

Static mixers may be used to dissolve gaseous ozone in water treatment facilities in order to provide protection against the waterborne parasite Cryptosporidium parvum. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of a brief exposure to turbulent gas-liquid mixing conditions in a static mixer on inactivation of C. parvum oocysts by ozone. Inactivation measured in an ozone contacting apparatus that employed a static mixer for ozone dissolution was compared to predictions based on a previously published kinetic model of C. parvum inactivation by dissolved ozone in gently stirred batch reactors. Although initial contact in the static mixer had no immediate effect on the oocysts, a 20% increase in the rate of inactivation during subsequent contact with dissolved ozone was observed. Increasing the degree of turbulence within the static mixer did not yield additional inactivation. Use of static mixers for dissolution of ozone in drinking water treatment systems may provide limited enhancement of C. parvum inactivation by dissolved ozone.     

Microsized fayalite Fe2SiO4 as anode material: the structure,electrochemical properties and working mechanism

Journal of Electroceramics - Fayalite Fe2SiO4 is synthesized by the solid-state reaction without ball milling. The obtained powder is further structurally and electrochemically examined. Field...